Winglet : Isolation

If Rainbow didn't know, she would have thought Prince Turtle was deliberating on playing hide-and-seek with her. Another morning she spent waiting for the little prince in his writing room. And again, another disappearing act.

It was until high noon that she decided to leave the room to search for him. With no clue whatsoever, she had to content herself by asking nearby dragons and glancing around the Summer Palace.

With a stroke of luck, she managed to spot a conspicuous dragonet lurking along the cliff wall surrounding the pavilion. It was easy to picked out his green among the brown mud cliff wall. He was trying to move between the crevice of the cliff while hiding in a certain angle. Probably trying to trail somebody out of her sight.

Such movement may have evaded his target's attention. It certainly would have drawn all the others' attention to him. She took flight and flew toward him.

"Prince Turtle." She feathered her landing besides him. "What are you doing?"

The little prince scrambled to his claws. Launched himself against the wall and hugged it for his dear life. Rainbow quickly apologized to him while soothing him with her wings. It was until Prince Turtle saw her face that he finally calm down.

"I was e-erm watching the scenery from here. Enjoy the view-" But Prince Turtle stopped at the look of her unconvinced tapping. "I was following someone but don't tell anyone. It's really important."

"Who are you-"

Before Rainbow could finish her sentence, Prince Turtle pushed her into a crevice of the wall. From the gaps of crevice, she could see a dull green SeaWing flew away towards the pavilion. That must be the dragon Prince Turtle was following.

"Quick. Not much time until he's back."

Prince Turtle flapped his wings and drove himself into a cave in the cliff wall. That cave probably was where the green SeaWing came from. She hastened herself to follow Prince Turtle's wing beats into the cave.

Standing at the cave entrance, she saw Prince Turtle had already pushed open a door and, with an hourglass in his talon, trotted into it. Besides each door carved a name into on a sign, she went closer and examine the carving. Many of the name had a familiar ring.

Lagoon, Pearl, Tempest, Moray...

"Prince Turtle... I don't think we should barge in places like these."

She stood at the doorway peered into the dark room. It was not a lavish room that she would have expected of a room for the council members. There an old chest, a writing desk with an hourglass dripping sand, and a lot of shelves filled with scrolls in all directions.

Among the shelves, there was Prince Turtle. Scurrying for something between scrolls. His feet were scraping against the edge while dangling his tail among the topmost shelves.

"Prince Turtle! Please be careful."

As if on cue, Prince Turtle's legs slipped away from the shelf. His bottom half of his body turned into a pendulum, swung sideways wildly while his talons trying painstakingly gripped anything that could pull him up.

"Turtle!"

Rainbow ran forth with arms extended. She caught him just in time as Prince Turtle loosen his grip and landed right into her arm. Her talons scraped against the floor as they collided.

"Are you okay?"

Prince Turtle curled in her lap, still stunned by the fall. After she gently rocked him, He finally nodded.

"Maybe I should do the searching in the higher shelves while you search for the lower ones."

His frightful eyes soften. He then lower his gaze and said.